Rather than spam your newsfeed with a constant stream of coronavirus news, we’re going to take a leaf out of our sister site’s book and instead create a single page that we’ll update as news comes in. Here’s everything we’ve had drop into the inbox so far:
March 14
– It has been announced today that the iXS Dirt Masters festival has been moved to September after recent developments in the spread of the COVID-19 virus and the travel restrictions that have been put in place by some countries. The organisers will be providing exact details in the coming weeks but read the latest statements below:
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The first months of the year is dominated by the spread of the new coronavirus 2019 from its point of origin in Wuhan, China, to more and more cities and countries around the globe. Concern for public health has prompted the Ministry of Health of North Rhine-Westphalia to rethink, postpone or even cancel large meetings of all kinds, from professional sporting events and concerts to schools and university courses. We experience how the global health crisis is rewriting the calendar of events for 2020.
Coronavirus and major events – the whole thing is a clear matter in other countries: Italy, France and Switzerland have cancelled everything in principle. In Germany, however, the issue remains an enormous challenge for local authorities. This is precisely why we have been in intensive and constant contact with all partners over the past weeks and days. The current developments regarding Corona (SARS-CoV-2) and the related preventive measures and travel restrictions unfortunately force us to postpone the iXS Dirt Masters Festival 2020 in Winterberg to September this year. Why? The athletes and visitors include many people who come from abroad, many of them also from the much more affected regions from all over the world. Some of these people cannot and are currently not allowed to travel from their countries of origin. As the organiser of the largest Gravity Mountain Bike Festival, we also have a duty of care towards the visitors, athletes and exhibitors, and of course towards our own staff and everyone affected by the festival. The current situation around the corona virus and the decree of the Ministry of Health of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, not only the Dirt Masters, to postpone this one time the most popular Gravity Mountain Bike Festival in Europe to a later date. The Bikepark Winterberg and we very much regret this postponement. We are more than aware that this requires a lot of understanding from the athletes and spectators. This decision was not easy, but the risk is not acceptable for all parties involved at the moment.— iXS Dirt Masters |
March 13
– The Port Angeles National NW Cup is the next event to be postponed because of COVID-19 after it was announced that they are postponing the race that was due to take place in April.
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We are super bummed to say this, but we are out of options. The April 10-12 race is going to be postponed for obvious reasons, not the least of which is that the DNR has (wisely) decided to cancel all events thru April. We will have more details in the coming days/weeks.
We are currently out of town supporting another race series, but will be back next week (if they let us back in?) to start sorting out all the details. Thank you for your continued support.— NW Cup |
– After the first round of the Downhill World Cup was postponed earlier this week the organisers for the Fort William round have released a statement saying that currently there are no plans to postpone or cancel the event on 6 – 7 June. Read the full statement below:
– The 2020 Cape Epic has been cancelled. Event organizers issued the following statement: “Out of concern for the health and safety of our riders and other stakeholders, following recent advice received from the Western Cape Government, we have no choice but to cancel the 2020 Absa Cape Epic due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.
Mediclinic, the event’s medical partner since inception and which provides services to many Western Cape events, supports the decision. The decision also has the full support of most of our sponsors, including our headline sponsor, Absa.
The event was due to start on Sunday March 15 on Table Mountain and end on March 22 in Paarl after travelling to Ceres, Tulbagh and Wellington.
Race founder Kevin Vermaak said: ‘I have taken this step with a heavy heart, but the health and safety of everybody involved in the event has to be paramount. ‘At 6pm today we received the formal advice from government.’ Kevin appealed for patience from all stakeholders, who will be contacted directly regarding the way forward.”
March 12
– The London Bike Show is postponed until 3-5July. Organisers said: “We have been following UK government guidelines and working with the rolling advice from the public health authorities and other organisations, but it is now with reluctance that we have taken the decision to postpone the event at this time. The safety and wellbeing of our staff, exhibitors, visitors, partners and contractors is of the utmost importance to us, and therefore feel the protection and prevention of harm to the public has been paramount to this decision.”
– Garmin Titan Desert postponed until 2- 7 November.
March 11
– After the Colombian President, Ivan Duque, announced on Twitter that visitors from Italy, France and other affected countries would have to go into self-isolation upon arriving in the country, rounds 1 and 2 of the EWS were also postponed. Round 1 in Colombia will now take place on 7-8 November, while round 2 in Chile will now take place on 14-15 November. Round 3, due to take place at France’s Montagnes du Caroux on May 23, is still scheduled to go ahead.
March 10
– The first big casualty of the race season is the Lousa World Cup. After a letter was published by the Portuguese Ministry of Health, establishing that outdoor events with over 5,000 in attendance would have to be canceled by early April. A new date is yet to be set for the rescheduling of the event but it will apparently be decided in a series of meetings next week (w/c16 March).
– MMR Factory Race Team announced they were pulling out of the Cape Epic. Team manager, Angel Gomez, said: “It wasn’t an easy decision to take, but we are sure that we have made the correct one. Cycling is a super mobile sport where our riders and staff are exposed to the risk in a long travel like this, and teams are putting the riders and staff at risk of transmission and quarantine.” The Cape Epic is still scheduled to go ahead and begins on Sunday 15 March.
– Marlene Südtirol Sunshine Race postponed, new date tbc.
March 9
– Bentonville Bike Fest postponed until August 7-9. Kenny Belaey, event organizer, said: “We appreciate the continued support from our partners, sponsors and the community. Although the dates have changed, we are still on track and moving forward with our scheduled plans. It also allows us to maintain our partnership with the Bentonville Film Festival.”
March 7
– Toquato Testa misses the Crankworx Rotorua slopestyle competition after being asked to self-isolate.
March 6
– Britain’s Bespoked Show is pushed back from May 3-5 to 15-18 October.
March 5
– There’s another big blow as the second big show of the spring gets postponed. Sea Otter cancelled its April date, on March 5 and than announced the new date of October 1-4 a few days later.
– The Mountain Bike Eliminator World Cup #1 gets postponed. The inaugural Dubai event is still to set a new date.
March 4
– The UCI announces Coronavirus guidelines, saying it will “not proceed with the cancellation of any events at this stage”. It added, “Any possible decision to cancel will be taken by the health authorities in the concerned regions depending on the evolution of the local situation and different risk factors identified. The organisers and all members of the cycling family will be obliged to comply to any such decision.”
March 3
– The first North American event is affected as the NAHBS Show postponed until August.
– The Mountain Mayhem race was forced to cancel as, “it is no longer possible to get any cancellation insurance from any company.”
March 2
– The Andorra Race Cup was suspended due to Prime Ministerial decree. The Province of Savona had been designated a “Yellow Zone”, which led to the suspension of all sporting events and shows in the indicated areas until Sunday March 8th, 2020. The event is yet to be rescheduled.
February 11
– The first major casualty of the Coronavirus, the Taipei Cycle Show, is postponed until May.
February 3
– The Taipei Cycle Show announces it will not allow Chinese visitors or exhibitors into the show but it is hoping to go ahead with planned.
